Agriculture: Genetically Modified Crops

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of research published by the University of Arizona, what assessment they have made of the number of pests that have become resistant to the contents of genetically modified crops and associated sprays.

Lord De Mauley: I believe this refers to the study published in Nature Biotechnology (Volume 31: 510-521, June 2013) entitled Insect resistance to Bt crops: lessons from the first billion acres. It confirms that although most pest populations remain susceptible to control by existing GM insect-resistant crops, resistance has been reported in some populations of five major pest species. The study provides a useful review of the evidence and the options for resistance management to maintain the efficacy of this approach to pest control. It notes that with best practice efficacy can be sustained for fifteen years or more. The current GM insect-resistant crops are not expected to be grown in the UK because we do not have a problem with the target pest species.

Agriculture: Genetically Modified Crops

Baroness Parminter: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many research projects looking at the environmental impacts of genetically modified crop cultivation have been funded by grants from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs during the current Parliament; and whether all the results of those trials have been made available on the Government’s website.

Lord De Mauley: Defra has not funded any genetically modified (GM) crop research trials during the current Parliament.

Benefits: Motability Scheme

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Freud on 24 June (HL Deb, col 595), how long they expect appeals against decisions altering eligibility for assistance with mobility will take to be processed; and whether they plan to link the time it takes for an appeal to be processed to the transitional time during which a person may keep their Motability vehicle.

Lord Freud: We are unable to provide a reliable estimate of the expected length of
	time it will to process appeals against Personal Independence Payment decisions that may affect eligibility to the Motability scheme.
	We have introduced a number of changes that are designed to help reduce the number of appeals made and improve the time it takes for an appeal to be dealt with. These include Mandatory Reconsiderations and a new 28 day time limit for the Department to respond to appeals.
	Motability is an independent charitable organisation wholly responsible for the administration of the Motability scheme. It is their policy to allow people who are no longer eligible to stay with the scheme to keep their car for up to a month before it is recovered. It will be for Motability to decide whether any additional time can be given.

Census

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord McNally on 3 June (WA 106), whether they have published the guidance on collecting personal data from prisoners across all the protected characteristics in the equalities legislation; and, if so, whether they will place the guidance in the Library of the House.

Lord McNally: The guidance has been published and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Education Act 1996

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish their review of the responses received to their consultation on whether to repeal section 444(6) of the Education Act 1996.

Lord Nash: We are currently considering the responses to our consultation on educational outcomes for children of travelling families, of which there were almost 2,000. We will publish our response in due course.

Energy: Carbon Sequestration

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they have taken to ensure that the reduction in carbon sequestration, as well as the carbon released, from the utilisation of bio energy are accounted for in the United Kingdom’s carbon budgets.

Baroness Verma: The UK compiles an annual inventory of greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the requirements of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
	Change (UNFCCC). The inventory includes the carbon losses and sequestration associated with land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF). The inventory is published at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-greenhouse-gas-inventory.
	With regard to bio-energy, where wood from UK or EU forests is consumed as a source of fuel it is accounted for in the LULUCF sector. The net change in carbon stock due to the use of wood as fuel is thus accounted for in the UK's emissions total. Also any fossil fuel emissions arising from transport of biomass or harvesting activity will be accounted for in the relevant sectors.
	Under the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, accounting for Forest Management is mandatory. The EU also requires Member States to account for emissions due to Forest Management activities on a mandatory basis thereby ensuring implementation of the UNFCCC accounting rules within the EU. Wood imported from outside the EU for fuel, is not accounted in EU emissions inventories as responsibility for reporting those rests with the producing country.
	The UK will take a decision in due course on accounting for voluntary activities under the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol and EU LULUCF accounting—including cropland management and grazing-land management which is relevant to bio-energy.

Energy: Electricity Supplies

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with stakeholders about granting registered electricians direct access to service fuses, in order for them to isolate the electricity supply in individual dwellings.

Baroness Verma: The Government have engaged with electrical contractors, the Energy Network Association, (ENA) the Electrical Safety Council (ESC), Ofgem and individual members of the public on this topic. A DECC representative attended the ESC's electrical safety summit in March where it was raised and it has been considered at DECC's smart meter operational issues stakeholder group whose members include energy suppliers and network operators. DECC will continue to engage with industry and Ofgem to assist their ongoing consideration of this matter.

Energy: Fracking

Lord Hoyle: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they issue to companies engaged in fracking regarding the disclosure of the chemicals they are using in that process.

Baroness Verma: In England, the regulation of unconventional gas and oil is carried out by the Environment Agency. Currently, the Agency works with hydraulic fracturing companies and their well services providers to ensure that they fully disclose the chemicals they intend to use in hydraulic fracturing operations. It assesses the hazards presented by fracking fluid additives on a case by case basis. Operators must disclose chemicals they intend to use as part of the permitting process. This information is then published by the Environment Agency on its website. The Agency has powers to require full disclosure of those chemicals, both under the Water Resources Act 1991 and the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010. Technical guidance, which will also cover disclosure of chemicals, is due to be published for consultation by the end of July.

Energy: Fracking

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the amount of natural gas which will be obtained from shale gas fracking in the United Kingdom in each of the next ten years.

Baroness Verma: The Government have not made estimates of shale gas production. More exploration and appraisal is required to establish the proportion of the shale gas resource that is technically and economically recoverable and over what timeframe.

Energy: Shale Gas

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which areas of the United Kingdom there are current licences for exploratory drilling for shale gas; which companies hold them; and when they will expire.

Baroness Verma: Petroleum licences are not specific to shale gas and do not give permission for operations, but grant exclusivity to licensees in relation to petroleum appraisal and exploration within a particular licence area. Shale gas prospectivity was identified by some applicants in the last (13th) onshore licensing round in 2008. There are also a number of companies who were awarded licences in earlier onshore rounds, before shale gas prospectivity was identified, and some are re-assessing the shale potential of these older licences. A map showing all UK onshore licences can be found on the Government website via the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/fi1e/210697/landfield_lics.pdf Details of all UK onshore licences, including the companies who hold them, can be found here:
	https://www.og.decc.gov.uk/information/licence_reports/onshorebylicence.html

Government: Major Projects Authority

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Major Projects Authority's first annual report was published at 4pm on a Friday afternoon.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Major Projects Authority Annual Report was a watershed moment. No previous Government have ever been this transparent about the state of their projects.
	The report had been scheduled to be published at noon. However, various unforeseen issues delayed publication by a few hours.
	A copy of the report is available here: http://engage. cabinetoffice.gov.uk/major-projects-authority/

Overseas Aid

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 4 June (WA 173) on overseas aid, why they referred the questioner to a publication containing 149 pages instead of providing the information requested.

Baroness Northover: The data required to enable the questioner to obtain the information requested is available from our annual ‘Statistics on International Development’ publication and population data sources which are already in the public domain to enable access to the data the noble Lord requested. The written answer of 4th June highlights Table 8 (page 26) as the appropriate section of the publication. A source for population data is identified in the written answer.

Overseas Aid

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the comparative figures for the spending per head of population on overseas aid between the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States over the past three years.

Baroness Northover: Details of net Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend for United Kingdom, Germany and the United States of America for the 2009, 2010, and 2011 calendar years are tabled below:
	
		
			 (£ millions) 
			  UK Germany United States of America 
			 2009 7 223 7 733 18 458 
			 2010 8 452 8 238 19 525 
			 2011 8 629 9 071 19 190 
		
	
	Population data from UN World Population Prospects (2010 Revision)* is listed below:
	
		
			 Population figures ('000s) 
			  UK Germany United States of America 
			 2009 61 652 82 405 307 687 
			 2010 62 036 82 302 310 384 
			 2011 62 417 82 163 313 085 
		
	
	*Source available online at http:/esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Excel-Data/population.htm
	Spending per head of population can be calculated from the above sources as required.

Public Bodies

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote the representation of (1) women, (2) ethnic minorities, and (3) disabled people on public bodies, in the light of the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Public Appointments Diversity Strategy.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Government have established the Centre for Public Appointments in the Cabinet Office to support and work with departments on public appointments.
	Both the Commissioner for Public Appointments and the Cabinet Office’s Centre for Public Appointments are working with underrepresented groups to identify barriers to applications.

Schools: Academies

Lord Bates: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many schools have been granted Academy status since 2010 in each region of England.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many failing schools have been converted to Academy status since 2010 in each region of England.

Lord Nash: 2,846 academies have opened since May 2010. Of these, 519 are sponsored academies, which have replaced underperforming predecessor schools. A breakdown by region is provided in the table:
	
		
			 Region Sponsored academies that have replaced predecessor schools that were underperforming Total number of open academies 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 63 283 
			 North East 24 126 
			 North West 38 213 
			 East Midlands 69 398 
			 West Midlands 87 317 
		
	
	
		
			 East of England 54 410 
			 London 34 286 
			 South East 84 395 
			 South West 66 418 
			 TOTAL 519 2,846

Schools: Funding

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to ensure that capital funding is allocated to the local authorities that have the greatest need for additional school places.

Lord Nash: Allocation of capital funding for new school places in 2013-15 was based on data collected for us at a local authority defined planning area level. This information provides us with the clearest picture of place pressures within local authorities that we have ever had.
	Through the Targeted Basic Need Programme, we are providing additional capital funding to those local authorities experiencing the greatest pressure on places. The programme will create new high-quality schools and additional places, and will help local authorities to prepare for further rises in pupil numbers. We intend to announce the successful applicants to the programme shortly.
	The Department will continue to prioritise the provision of capital funding for this purpose. The 2013 Spending Round settlement is sufficient to provide 500,000 new school places by 2021.

Schools: School Meals

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 17 June (WA 22), whether they will take steps to ensure that families (1) with children in poverty, and (2) in receipt of Universal Credit, are (a) entitled to, and (b) receive, free school meals; and whether they will recommend that all local authorities and school providers introduce cashless systems in order to de-stigmatise the receipt of free school meals.

Lord Nash: The Government recognise the benefits of healthy school meals and are committed to
	continuing to provide free school meals (FSM) to pupils who need them most. The move to Universal Credit means that we need to introduce new free school meal criteria. These will not reduce the number of children entitled to free school meals.
	Extending entitlement to all those in receipt of Universal Credit would result in more than half of children being entitled to FSM in England, which would cost up to an additional £1bn per year. This is not possible in the current economic climate.
	Our eligibility checking service, used by most local authorities, has made it much easier and quicker to check anonymously which families are entitled to free school meals.
	The Department encourages all schools to take action to remove the stigma which can be attached to free school meals. This includes considering the introduction of cashless payment systems.

Schools: Strikes

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) schools and (2) pupils were affected by the National Union of Teachers-National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers strike on 27 June in (a) Liverpool, (b) Merseyside, (c) the North West of England, and (d) nationally.

Lord Nash: The strike by the National Union of Teachers and the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers on 27 June 2013 took place in the North West region of England only, excluding Cumbria. The Department for Education collected data on the number of schools that were closed, open or partially open. 776 state-funded schools in the North West, excluding Cumbria, were reported as being open, 789 were partially open and 1,214 were closed. The situation with 86 schools is not known.
	Based on this data, only 42% of schools in the North West were closed. 77% of schools in the North West closed during the last national strike on 30 November 2011. This was a strike by the National Union of Teachers, National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, Association of Teachers and Lecturers and National Association of Head Teachers as well as support staff unions.
	The Government did not collect data on the number of pupils affected in each school. It is not possible to calculate this accurately because we do not know how many pupils were affected in schools that were partially open.
	We do not release school closure information at local authority level as this data is provided voluntarily by local authorities.